TORRINGTON >> A bit of Facebook surfing could end up helping a Torrington woman earn a $25,000 grant for her small business.

Rachel Hannon Harrel, 41, said she learned about the FedEX Small Business Grant Contest one day through one of her friends on the social networking site.

“I went in just to look at it and it was relatively easy to apply,” Hannon Harrel said.

Hannon Harrel is the owner of Quailie’s Kids, a custom merchandise shop she operates out of her home in Torrington. She said she also sells her homemade products, which include apparel with custom graphics like birthday outfits, tshirts, handbags and totes, in two stores in the state.

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The promotional grant contest has a grand prize of $25,000. Additionally, contestants can earn a first place grant of $5,000 and a second-place grant of $1,000.

Since signing up in January, Hannon Harrel has been asking friends and community members on Facebook and Twitter to vote online for her business, which help increase her chances of winning the grant.

According to their website, the number of votes a business owner receives on their website will help boost their visibility in the contest and is one of the ways the top 100 finalists are chosen by the company.

Quailie’s Kids is in competition with nearly 4,000 small businesses nationally, with about 80 businesses based in Connecticut alone.

Winning the grant would offer Hannon Harrel a chance to develop her business. She said she would probably use the money to get a heat press or even a digital printer for her fabrics.

“Right now I do heat transfers, but I use an iron,” Hannon Harrel said. “There are definitely things that I can get that are useful so that I could be a little more productive.”

She said she feels thankful for all the people who have supported and voted for her online.

“It’s cool that people are helping me out,” Hannon Harrel said. “It’s a neat process. It’s probably something that wouldn’t be very achievable without things like Facebook and Twitter.”

Voting ends on Feb. 23, with the top 100 businesses announced on Feb. 26. Grant winners are announced on March 23. Last year’s winner was Darn Good Yarn, which was founded by Nicole Snow, a US Air Force Veteran.